A February 2026 CBS News investigation reveals a dramatic surge in threats, doxxing, and swatting against U.S. public officials, with 126 people federally charged in 2025 for threatening government figures — more than triple the number from a decade ago. Targets span all three branches of government, including federal judges, members of Congress, law enforcement officers, and both current and former presidents. The U.S. Marshals Service recorded 564 threats against federal judges in the last fiscal year, and the U.S. Capitol Police investigated nearly 15,000 concerning communications directed at lawmakers — up significantly from prior years. Experts point to the rise of social media, pandemic-era polarization, and a normalization of dehumanizing political rhetoric as key drivers, warning that the hostile climate is discouraging qualified people from seeking public office and pushing the country closer to broader political violence. Federal judges, some receiving hundreds of threatening voicemails and being swatted at their homes, say the current environment is unlike anything they have experienced in decades on the bench.

Read it here.